People with a mental health condition have more RNA damage than those without one. Since RNA damage is known to accelerate ageing, these findings could explain why mental health conditions are linked to such as cancer or type 2 diabetes.
at the Psychiatric Center Copenhagen in Denmark and his colleagues measured markers of damaged RNA and DNA in more than 7700 people ages 25 and up, almost 3100 of whom had a mental health condition. They focused on markers of oxidative stress, which occurs when highly reactive compounds containing oxygen damage cells. Oxidative stress contributes to age-related diseases like heart disease, dementia and cancer. Sources of the compounds that cause oxidative stress include digestion, smoking and pollution.
The researchers analysed levels of oxidative stress markers in urine samples collected from participants between 2007 and 2013. After taking into account the age and sex of the participants, they found that samples collected from people with a mental health condition had elevated amounts of a particular marker of RNA damage. Levels of the marker were 9 per cent higher, on average, in these samples than in samples from people without a mental health condition.
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By tracking participant deaths from the time each of them joined the study until the end of May 2023, the team discovered that those with elevated levels of the marker were also more likely to die during this time. Participants with high levels of the marker and a mental health condition were almost twice as likely to die as those with low levels and no mental health condition.
Together, these findings suggest that RNA damage from oxidative stress may explain the association between mental health conditions and premature death.
Why people with psychiatric conditions experience more oxidative stress is unclear, though, says J酶rgensen. 鈥淲e can only guess. But overall, the level of factors that could cause oxidative stress 鈥� like smoking or obesity 鈥� are usually higher in people with psychiatric illness,鈥� he says. The study didn鈥檛 control for these aspects of health, so they might help explain the increases in oxidative stress.
Identifying exactly which of these factors have the biggest effect will be critical for improving the health of people with mental health conditions, says at the University of Edinburgh in the UK. 鈥淪o, how much impact can we have by helping [them] reduce their smoking? Getting them to exercise more?鈥� she says.
JAMA Psychiatry
